Those are his words.

Dmitri Peskov and Aimee Tye perform this weekend at Links Hall.

Russian-born dancer/choreographer/poet Dmitri Peskov — who premieres his dance suite Of Fleeting Things at Links Hall tonight at 8 pm — is heading home.  This summer he will perform his work in multiple cities in Russia.  “This trip is going to be very special,” he says.  “I have never performed in Russia.  My parents have never seen my work.”  Peskov has lived abroad (Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal) and has been in the US for almost 20 years now, but he didn’t start dancing until his senior year of college.  He certainly has made up for lost time.  In the years since, he has served on dance faculties (Beloit College, College of DuPage, University of Wisconsin – Madison), worked with modern artists like Paul Sanasardo, Wynn Fricke and Bob Eisen, performed with the Lyric Opera, won the Dance Chicago Festival Choreographic Prize (2005) and the Illinois Arts Council Choreography Fellowship Award (2008) and became a published poet.

This year, at 36, Peskov founded Dmitri Peskov Dance Theatre, which he describes as “exhilarating, like jumping out of an airplane”.  Tonight marks its first independent concert in Chicago with a world premiere suite of solos and duets titled Of Fleeting Things.  Dubbed a commentary on the nature of dance by Peskov himself, the new work featuring five dancers tells the story of two people of opposing nature.  A human study of light and dark, if you will.  The seven sections’ themes reflect on spirituality, human relationships, meditation, communication and insecurity while incorporating a vast range of movement styles from the slowness of martial arts meditations to more theatrical fare and even some skin (Peskov will be nude for a portion of the performance).

Of Fleeting Things, Dmitri Peskov Dance Theatre, June 11 & 12 at 8 pm and June 13 at 7:30 pm at Links Hall (3435 N Sheffield, Chicago).  Tickets are available at Links Hall or call 773.281.0824.